Curt Freed, MD

Division Head and Professor of Medicine

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Research in my laboratory has focused on the dynamic use of neurotransmitters during movement. We have used the technique of in vivo dialysis to study the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in awake, behaving animals. With these methods, we have shown that dopamine metabolism is increased in striatum and other brain nuclei during motor activity.

In 1988, my neurosurgical colleague, Robert Breeze, MD, and I performed the first transplant of human fetal dopamine cells into a Parkinson patient in the United States. Since that time, we have performed implants on more than 60 Parkinson patients. With support from the National Institutes of Health, we have conducted a double-blind, placebo surgery controlled clinical trial of the transplant method. It was the first placebo controlled trial ever done in the field of Neurosurgery. Results showed that transplants could survive without the need for immunosuppression and could improve objective signs of Parkinson’s disease. That research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001.

To extend transplantation to more patients, we are developing methods to convert human embryonic stem cells to dopamine neurons. These techniques should make it possible to produce unlimited quantities of dopamine cells for transplant. With these human cells, we have successfully treated animals with a condition similar to Parkinson’s disease. We expect that this stem cell strategy will be available to Parkinson patients in the coming years.

My laboratory is staffed by graduate students, post doctoral fellows, technicians, and faculty. Funding is from NIH grants, organizations like the American Parkinson's Disease Association, and individual philanthropists. The University of Colorado was named a National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence in 1995.